1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to an operation data processing device for controlling an operation state of a sewing production system intended for embroidery machines.
2. Description of Related Art
The use of production systems with embroidery machines to sew various patterns is well known in the prior art. In one example, a production system, on which several embroidery machines are operated, can record operations performed by each embroidery machine in log files to manage an operation state of each embroidery machine. Based on the log files, operation data, such as productivity and rate of operation on each embroidery machine, is made and used as management data. In a system disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-272271, a log file 100 is recorded as shown in FIG. 15. The log file 100 stored the contents of operations of a sewing machine named AAAAAA, performed from Feb. 1 to Feb. 2 of 1997.
In the log file 100, embroidery steps are recorded, such as a sewing start 101, a color change 102 and a trouble situation, such as a thread breakage 103. In addition to thread breakage, examples of trouble related to thread are a bobbin thread tangle and a thread wiping error.
Thread breakage can be a frequent problem with embroidery machines. Every time thread is broken on an embroidery machine, the operator must restore the embroidery machine to a normal state of operation. Therefore, a log file, which may store records of a week or a month, is investigated to count the number of times thread breakage has occurred on a particular pattern. This information is later used for product control.
FIG. 16 shows an example of a conventional summary table 110 illustrating the occurrence of thread breakage 103 when a pattern xe2x80x9cFun3 xe2x80x9d is embroidered. The summary table 110 indicates that thread breakage occurred at the 1403rd stitch for a first time and a second time of embroidering, respectively. Additionally, it indicates that thread breakage occurred at the 1402nd stitch for a third time of embroidering. It is apparent from the summary table 110 that thread breakage is liable to occur at the 1402nd stitch of the pattern xe2x80x9cFun3xe2x80x9d.
However, the summary table 110 only shows a position where the thread breakage is likely to occur by stitch numbers. It is difficult for the user to manage embroidery machines in operation by stitch numbers only, which are just enumerated on a management display screen. Because the conventional summary table 110 does not link a sewing position to a stitch number, it is difficult to find where the sewing position is located in the pattern, and thus determine a point where thread breakage is likely to occur. In addition, when sewing pattern data is processed into stitch data, it is difficult to detect which piece of stitch data has a problem.
In a sewing order, two stitches may be positioned close to each other, although their sewing order numbers are far apart. In the summary table 110, it is impossible to find such a positional relationship. For example, if the occurrence of thread breakage can be decreased through a minor correction of stitch positions, the positional relationship must be found. Because the results obtained from the summary table 110 do not indicate a positional relationship, they cannot be fully utilized for later production control.
This invention provides an operation data processing device that summarizes trouble situations which occur during sewing and displays problems in association with stitch numbers for future production control.
This invention provides an operation data processing device that processes operation data for pattern sewing operations performed by at least one pattern sewing machine. It includes a log data storing device that generates and stores log data based on an operation state of the pattern sewing machine. It also includes a trouble summarizing device that summarizes trouble information pertaining to sewing operations, which occur on the pattern sewing machine during operation. The trouble data is summarized in association with a stitch number based on the log data stored in the log data storing device. A displaying device visualizes the trouble information, summarized via the trouble summarizing device in association with the stitch number.
Operation log data of the sewing machines is stored by the log data storing device, and trouble data is summarized in association with the stitch numbers by the trouble summarizing device based on the log data. The log data includes not only the trouble information, but also various events of operations associated with the stitch numbers. Of the log data, trouble related to thread breakage, for example, is summarized by the trouble summarizing device. Further, as the summarized trouble information is visualized by the displaying device, a trouble place and trouble frequency may easily be grasped. Therefore, such information may be utilized for later production control.
These and other features and advantages of this invention are described in or apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.